A 2013 video obtained by the News-Press purportedly shows a high-ranking Fort Myers police officer engage in a sex act during an operation. Nudity, sexual images and utterances have been edited out.
Special to the News-Press, Fort Myers News-Press

State Attorney Amira Fox has asked the governor's office to reassign a case related to a high-ranking Fort Myers police official who allegedly had sexual contact with a woman during an undercover prostitution sting in 2013.

In a letter dated Feb. 13, Fox made the request that an executive order is issued because "there exists a conflicting relationship between State Attorney Amira D. Fox and Mr. Rodriguez arising from the election in 2018."

Fort Myers police Chief Derrick Diggs asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to launch a criminal investigation into the prostitution sting at New Asian Massage parlor after a complaint was filed by former Fort Myers police Detective O'Neil Kerr in December.

A video purportedly showing Rodriguez's interaction with a woman, who was later arrested, was turned over to the city in early February and a criminal investigation was launched.

A second case where Rodriguez alleges Fort Myers activist Anthony Thomas was extorting him is also being investigated. Investigators sent a subpoena to Google for records of Kerr in that case.

Thomas has denied the accusations.

Kerr declined to comment Monday, but in an email to Fort Myers City Attorney Grant Alley, he wrote that the extortion complaint had nothing to do with him and he was "being subjected to an unlawful search and seizure."

Through a spokesman, Diggs declined to answer questions about the extortion case and whether it would be turned over to FDLE.

Fox declined to comment about the extortion case and the subpoena, which were issued from her office.

Chris Crowley, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Fox last November, sent a letter to FDLE's Office of Executive Investigations on Feb. 14 requesting an independent investigation of the Rodriguez case, including allegations that the city of Fort Myers violated Florida Sunshine Law when it denied the video's existence to Kerr.

"Unfortunately, there is a deep culture of corruption in Lee County, Florida," wrote Crowley, a one-time prosecutor. "There is a very informal, 'good old boy' network that often ignores serious criminal conduct by the connected few."

The Office of Executive Investigations handles public corruption complaints, said FDLE spokesman Jeremy Burns, who confirmed the office received the letter but declined to comment because it involves an active investigation.

"In this town, we tend to sweep things under the rug," Crowley said. "We don’t really have a tough public corruption unit."

Stephanie Schaffer, city of Fort Myers spokeswoman, also declined to comment because it's an open investigation.

Rodriguez has been placed on leave with pay after the video was turned over to the city. The video purportedly shows him entering the business and appearing naked on camera with a woman who is in her underwear.

Since then, another internal police investigation has surfaced.

Capt. William Newhouse is under administrative review for allegedly mishandling a homicide case in 2009. The suspect, Connell Carroll, was later imprisoned for life on a second homicide he committed two years later.

The Fort Myers Police Department has come under fire before, including a 2017 independent audit that found possible corruption, mishandling of homicide cases and depleted resources.